Treasure His Unmerited Love

# 373 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 28:3b, “And Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the land. (1 Sam 28:3b) What's up with that? Why had Saul kicked out all the Wiccans? Why did he disconnect all the psychic hotlines. Why were the horoscopes removed from the Judah Times? I think it's safe to say that he did it in an attempt to regain God's favor. It's the old, “I know, if I obey God, then He will love me” ploy. God had told the Israelites that they were to stay away from those who engage in the dark arts, they are an abomination to Him, and I'll talk more about that next time, but for now let's address this problem of misguided obedience. God is greatly pleased by our obedience when it is properly motivated. And proper motivation always begins with faith. Heb 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” With God-given faith as our starting point, we can agree with 1Jo 4:19, “ We love Him because He first loved us.” Our motivation then to love God, springs from the fact that He reaches out to us in grace, not that we seek to earn His love or attention by doing good works. This love then is demonstrated by a heart that treasures His words. Jesus said in Joh 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.” the word, “keep” here, and in most other places in Scripture does not mean to obey. It means to put a hedge around something for the sake of protecting it because it's valuable to us. This is what we are to do with God's Word. Treasure it. Of course if we treasure it, we will be motivated to seek to obey it, and the motivation for such love is the fact that He first loved us! So yes, flee from the dark arts. Don't have anything to do with them, they are displeasing to the One who loves you, but don't do it to earn His favor, rather do it because you treasure His unmerited love for you. Father, help me to always be properly motivated in my service and obedience to You.

Don't Say "Lord, Lord. Live Lord Lord"

# 215 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 15:22 Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. (1 Sam 15:22) Samuel asks Saul a rhetorical question to which the answer is no. The Lord does not have as great of delight in a worship service as he does in children who obey and heed. You may have the finest pipe organ, the grandest liturgy, the most amazing choir, a phenomenal soloist, a worship team that seems to usher you into the very presence of the Lord week after week after week, but as good as all that stuff may be, it always plays second fiddle to obedience. In this day and age where people seem to be searching different churches to find the greatest worship experience, perhaps we should let this passage sink in. If you have found a church with a great worship experience, congratulations, you have found a church with the second best thing. The real question is how are you and your church doing with obedience. Which is the higher priority? Worship or a desire to be compliant to God's Word? Oh come on Duane, that's legalism! That's Christianity with nothing but rules. Well, it may seem like that, and it certainly can turn into that if one is not careful. But let's be clear here. The kind of obedience that God seeks is the kind that flows from His grace and then our gratitude for what He has done for us through Jesus Christ. It is not obedience to earn salvation, but rather obedience from thankfulness for salvation. We love Him because He first loved us, and Jesus said if we love Him we will keep His commandments, that is, we will treasure them, and if we treasure them, we will desire to obey them. Living a life that says “Lord, Lord, is more important than just saying “Lord, Lord.”